Stages
by Katherine A. Rossetti
Summary: Marcus of the Volturi was the last person Leah Clearwater thought she would ever imprint with. A werewolf and vampire soul mates? Yeah, they didn’t think it was possible either. Post Eclipse.
1. The Beginning

Disclaimer: Not mine, all characters are property of Stephenie Meyer.

Paring: MarcusxLeah…so, bet you didn't think of that one, did you?

I thought this pairing would be awesome considering both of these characters have such tragic love lives, Marcus' mate died in battle and the man Leah was in love with left her for her cousin. I figured they needed both needed someone…so why not each other?

//////////////////////// STAGES//////////////////////

She felt the cold soil sink beneath her paws each time they met with the hard earth, every pound bringing her closer to the intended target.

Wind sailed through her sleek, grey fur; branches whipped at her legs and the silver moon followed her every dart but nothing would deter her from where she was needed.

Her pack howled for her, they were in trouble and she wasn't there, if anything happened to any of them... she couldn't, she just couldn't even begin to think of that. She might have gone out of her way to make them suffer sometimes but they were still her family.

The reek of The Cold Ones polluted the forest and assaulted her sensitive nose, she was getting closer, dear God she was getting closer.

"_Jared, Watch out!" _

"_Jared!"_

Through the mind link, Leah watched in horror as one of her pack mates, Jared was tossed against a tree, hitting it and falling into a heap like a rag doll.

Leah yowled. _I'm coming!_

She prayed to any spirit or deity listening, to protect them. She tried to push out the images of her pack getting torn apart, her little brother Seth trying to hold his own against two red-eyed monsters. If Seth died, she didn't think she could live; she refused to lose another family member in the same year. Next, she saw Jacob jumping into the chaotic fray. Jacob had already almost died for her once; she couldn't let that happen again. Then there was Sam. She might have tried to convince herself that she hated him but deep down, beneath all the layers of betrayal, rage, and jealousy, she still cared for her high school sweetheart.

The stench of vampire became almost unbearable to Leah as she saw the clearing up ahead, the blurred shapes of vampire vs. werewolf forming before her eyes. She ran faster.

Leah didn't have time to take in just how many of the enemy surrounded them or what was happening because the first thing she saw was a streak of black rushing straight for her little brother. _Seth!_

She didn't think, she didn't have to, her body moved on it's own accord and she leapt straight into the line of attack between the vampire and her brother.

The Cold One hit her hard, obviously caught off guard by her sudden attack, and she used the momentum to roll the vampire beneath her.

She pinned her huge paws on either side of the vampire, forced her weight down and snarled.

For one moment blazing red eyes met swirling hazel.

It was then that the world changed.

Because in that moment, that _**single**_ moment, Leah Clearwater met Marcus of the Volturi and their lives shifted, pulled, and crashed into each other.

What they experienced was a force so undeniably strong it put magnets to shame. There was no stopping it, no turning back… they couldn't even if the wanted to.

//////////////////////// Marcus//////////////////////

It had been so long since he had felt anything besides the hollow ache of emptiness and sorrow.

Over the past five hundred years Marcus had subjected himself to an existence of utter emptiness. The raw hole that formed within him when _she_ died was always there and it was always a constant, sometimes dulled but never truly gone. The day _she_ died, he had sworn to himself that he would never feel again. Not with out _her_. _**Never**_without _her_.

And yet here he was, hundreds of years later, a swirl of burning emotions rising within him like billowing smoke, forcing its way upwards without any sense or reason and he could do nothing to stop it.

There was no beginning, no end. Just those hazel eyes piercing his own.

He saw it…no…he actually _**felt**_ it. His power, the ability to see relationships and the one he saw between himself and this feral wolf above of him was one he had never witnessed before.

When Marcus saw relationships, he saw them through colored lines that linked the subjects together, like strings. Lovers had red lines linking them. Close friends had blue. Enemies had black. Families yellow and rivals green.

In all of his years he had never beheld a pure white link, he didn't even think it possible…till this moment.

A blinding white link of incredible brightness and strength shot from Marcus' aura and connected to the wolves' aura before him. And he felt it, he _felt_ her energy connecting with his own in a way he'd never experienced before. It was like their souls were touching, connecting, and blending all at the same time.

All of the sudden, there was a new tension in the air, for in a split second the animal atop of him seemed to twist in agony. He saw the bones shift, the fur shrink, and the limbs lengthen until the wolf had changed into the shape of a woman.

The woman was taking in deep, ragged breaths and her hazel eyes gave away her momentary disorientation. Marcus used her sudden confusion to flip them so that he was the one pinning her.

Above them, the moonlight filtered through the trees illuminating the female's face and Marcus had to suppress the sudden urge to gasp.

She was beautiful. No she was more then just beautiful.

She was earth shattering, heart stopping, and breathtakingly gorgeous. Venus herself would be envious.

The wolf-woman had flawless, bronzed skin that stretched over her lithe yet sinewy limbs, giving her a mixed look of being both strong and delicate. Her face was perfectly symmetrical, with almond shaped hazel eyes that were framed by long, black lashes. Her nose was small and her lips looked both plush and full.

He stared as those delicious lips for a split second before they parted and he heard her low, sultry voice speaking.

"Its you…" she whispered before her eyes fluttered shut and she passed out, her body going limp.

Marcus shuddered as a flood of emotions he could not identify raced through his veins and assaulted his mind.

He had no idea what the hell just happened but he found himself straddling an unconscious werewolf, who also happened to be _**very**_ naked and _**very**_ attractive.

And all he knew was that he wanted her. Wanted her with an intensity that both frightened and intrigued him

In the distance, he was vaguely aware of the ongoing fight but all he could concentrate on was the unconscious woman beneath him.

He had two options…

He could leave her here in the woods, return to Italy and never look back. He could ignore this _**connection**_ he felt for the wolf-woman and go back to mourning the loss of his one true love.

Or…

He could take her. Bring her back to Italy, and then what…? Nothing, she would awaken and they would have to kill each other. They were natural enemies after all.

"Marcus, we have to retreat, there are to many of them." Felix called from behind him. He was missing an arm.

Marcus turned back to the stunning figure beneath him. Her long, black hair framed her face and Marcus had to clench his hands from to keep from running them through her silky tresses.

He shut his eyes, and clenched his teeth.

Ruby red eyes shot open.

Marcus of the Volturi had made his decision.

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Okay, so I just read Eclipse and this pairing just slipped in my head and wouldn't leave me alone till I wrote this. I have to say I am a big fan of this 'werewolf imprinting' business and I thought hmmm, "I wonder what would happen if a werewolf imprinted with a vampire?" Thus, this story happened.

If a lot of people want me to continue I probably will, so tell me if you liked it or not. I could also use some good ideas for interactions between the two characters, so if anyone has any please tell me.

-Katherine Rossetti


	2. Denial

He was dreaming again, and oh what an excellent dream it was

Disclaimer: Not mine, all characters are property of Stephenie Meyer

**A/N: EEK, quick thing, I just wanted to say THANK YOU TO FUFU for pointing out my huge mistake. I haven't read Twilight in a loooong time and completely forgot that vampires don't sleep. I really don't want to rewrite the start of the chapter, so maybe we could just pretend they do sleep. I'm sooo sorry that I'm not keeping to technicalities. Oh well, that's why its fanfiction :)**

Chapter 2: DENIAL

/STAGES/

He was dreaming again, and oh what an excellent dream it was. _She _was there. Alive and beautiful and breathtaking. He never wanted to wake up.

Honeyed ringlets bounced as she laughed sweetly, shaking her head at something Marcus had said.

He smiled and pulled her petite body closer, enveloping her in his arms.

"What would I ever do without you, my Little Bird?" He whispered softly, lips brushing against the delicate shell of her ear.

He felt her shiver and stroke one hand against his cheek before bringing up the other to gently cradle his face.

There was a moment of stilled silence but then she spoke, "I suppose you would find another."

Marcus let the words sink in before he reeled back as if doused in ice water. "Why?" he demanded grasping her shoulders and pulling her back to in an effort to read her expression, "Why would you say such a thing? I thought **you** of all people would know. You are the only one I love, the only one I could _ever_ love. There will _never_ be another for me but you." As he spoke, he let all of his conviction, love and passion pour through his words, willing-no _needing_ her to understand. "There will **never** be _**another**_."

She smiled sadly at him and shook her head, eyes full of sorrow, "Don't you see, Marcus my love? There already is another."

He felt himself freeze as she slowly backed out of his arms and Marcus watched in helplessness as the face of his beloved changed into another's.

Honey hued curls morphed into silky black strands at the same time her lovely snow white skin turned into an exotic copper and finally, _finally_ those crimson eyes became a fiery hazel.

His darlings' countenance became that of the wolves' and the wolf snarled, snapping her jaws forward in a vicious lunge.

Marcus woke up.

With eyes blinking rapidly, he sat up among the sheets in his large, empty bed. Had he been human he was positive that his heart would've been pounding a mile a minute.

Remembrance of the dream came rushing back to him at full force and with it a tide of unwanted emotions. Loneliness at the realization that his Little Bird was not curled up beside him, as she hadn't been for over five hundred years. He recalled the end of the dream and an overwhelming wave of shock hit him. His love had turned into the wolf woman, the same wolf woman he had…oh, dear Gods, no!

He hadn't actually brought the wolf back to Italy, with him; that had been a dream too, right?

In haste, he pulled on his black robes and made his way down to the guest-quarters. He paused before the grand marble entrance, praying that he hadn't actually done what he thought he did. Marcus took a moment to regain his wits before unlocking and pushing the doors open.

It was official, he, Marcus of the Volturi, had finally snapped. After five hundred years of living inside a shell of ice and constant apathy, he had lost it. That was the only reasonable explanation for why there was now an unconscious werewolf chained to the bed in his wings' guest room. Or at least that's what he told himself. Since certainly no sane vampire would ever pass up an opportunity to dispose of such a large threat to their existence, no matter how…_physically appealing_, they might be.

That was another thing that had shocked the usually emotionless vampire; the sheer amount of unadulterated lust and desire that stirred within him upon seeing that stunning face, hazel eyes flaring with an amount of intensity he hadn't felt in _years_. The fact that, her lush, naked body had been pressed up against his own had only done to worsen the inferno flaring in his veins, making it all too hard for him to think properly. Thus, he assumed that the combination of lust and insanity was a perfectly viable reason for why he had made the foolish decision of taking her as a captive.

Just what had he been thinking? Had he gone so long without feeling real emotions that even one as basic as lust had been enough to besiege his deadened heart and thus cause him to make rash, completely illogical decisions? Apparently, yes.

The girl on the bed twitched, invoking red orbs to stare back at that magnificent form. Her eyelids began to flutter and she tried to stretch her arms out in a yawn, only to find she couldn't get them very far with the heavy manacles locked tight around her wrists. This realization seemed to bring her into full consciousness as she snapped her eyes open.

For the second time in the last twenty-four hours crimson and hazel locked together. One gaze blank, the other confused.

The wolf woman stared at him a full minute before a look of realization crossed over her face and she leaned forward, struggling against the bonds that held her in place. "Where the hell am I?" she demanded.

Marcus nearly had to suppress a shudder at the slightly husky note in her voice. She had the exact type of voice built for expressing fleshly desires. He didn't believe she was doing it on purpose, that slightly rasping, low pitch was just her natural given tone.

"Are you going to answer me or not?" she growled. Every line in the girl's body was screaming agitation and aggression. He was thankful he had the foresight to chain her in the first place; otherwise he would be throat-less by now.

No. Marcus wouldn't answer her. Marcus never talked to anyone unless you counted Aro, and that wasn't really talking, only allowing him to see his thoughts. Sometimes he talked to Caius, but that was once in a blue moon and never about anything resembling a pleasant conversation, just business.

She tried to move forward again but snarled when the chains prevented her from doing so.

She looked wild and furious and strong. So, _so_ strong.

She _thrilled_ him.

Something no one had been able to achieve in hundreds of years. That in itself deserved some recognition did it not? Really, if he were honest with himself, he knew that he _wanted _to answer her, to actually speak to her and have her answer back. He wanted her reactions to his actions. This, he was beginning to realize, was not good. Not good at all.

So he did something he hadn't done in years. He spoke.

"You are in Italy. That is all you need to know." He made sure that his voice was as toneless as possible.

The woman frowned. "Are you going to kill me?"

"Maybe" he answered. _Actions and reactions_ he told himself again.

Her face looked conflicted and she was silent for a minute or so, before rage overtook her again. "Why don't you just do it already?" she spat, eyes flickering wildly, "My life is already over, what with having to impr—"

A sudden knock at the door startled both of them and she broke off her sentence. Marcus reached over to pull the entrance open, only to have one of the human servants reel in a breakfast cart with freshly made human food. The servant then bowed and ducked out of the room.

There was a note next to the platter that read:

_**Marcus, **_

_**I took the liberty of ordering something edible for your little experiment. It wouldn't do us any good to have the poor little thing die on us before you find out about the unique relationship bond between the two of you, now would it? I will stop by for a short visit sometime later this week to inspect the little wolf, if it is all right by you. Take care now and try not to get too caught up with the young one. **_

_**- Aro **_

Of course, in order to bring the woman back to Italy, he had to have had a plausible reason and he did. The mysterious blinding white link that connected him to the werewolf he had seen when he used his powers. Marcus had never witnessed any link that color in his entire life and with bringing her back to Italy, he could hopefully be able to figure out what it meant. She would be as Aro said his, "little experiment". In reality, he realized he should be very worried considering the link had been created the moment their eyes met, and usually it would take much longer then just looking at someone for a relationship to be formed.

He only hoped he could keep Aro away for as long as possible, there was no telling what he would do to the woman, especially if he had Jane with him. Marcus didn't want his 'experiment' broken before he could figure out their link and why he felt so drawn to her.

"Are you going to unchain me so that I can eat the food or are we just going sit here and stare at it?" her voice sliced through the room, effectively breaking his current train of thought.

"I will unchain one hand and one hand only. You can work with that can't you?" he was surprised to hear his voice take on a mocking edge when he had meant to keep it as blank as possible.

Just what was she doing to him?

He stepped around to the edge of her bed and sank down gracefully, "You must, however, promise to keep those nasty claws of yours' to yourself."

For whatever reason she scoffed and replied, "Don't worry, I couldn't hurt you even if I wanted to."

Something in her tone seemed awfully bitter when she said that and Marcus had to wonder why. He also wondered why she thought she couldn't hurt him, since she was obviously very capable of doing so. It wasn't every day someone was able to tackle and pin a battle hardened, three thousand year old vampire; which is something she had proved right from the start.

Marcus reached forward to take hold of her chained right arm.

"How do you know I'm not left handed?" she challenged, hazel eyes flashing. Another emotion came to life inside of him that he hadn't felt in a long while and it took him a moment to identify it as annoyance.

"If you are then you will learn to eat with your right." He replied monotonously.

She then huffed and growled a few non-repeatable words under her breath that Marcus chose to ignore. After all, he was a legitimate child of both parents and did not have any sexual tendency towards men, thank you very much.

When he took hold of her arm again, he noticed how warm and soft her skin felt, like heated velvet. He imagined it would feel like being burnt alive to be wrapped around her, to _feel_ her and he had been cold for so long…

No, he warned himself, do not think of such things. As he came back to himself he noticed that he had been gently stroking her soft, copper skin and instead of shoving him away as he assumed she would, she was actually leaning more towards him. Almost against him, leaning in so close he could feel her heat and smell her skin but not close enough to be actually touching. Her eyes were fluttered closed and the expression on her face was something akin to a calm bliss.

Bewildered, he immediately pulled his hand from her arm and unlocked the manacle on one hand. His sudden movement caused her to open her eyes. Her expression looked clouded and semi-confused almost as if she had just woken up but she snapped out of whatever haze she was in and instantly leaned back, trying to create a more of a distance.

Both stared at each other warily, something had just taken place between the two of them. What it was Marcus couldn't tell you, but the woman seemed to be more on edge then before, if that was possible.

It was then that Marcus decided he should leave before any more odd things happened to him and he did something he would regret. As he stood up she stopped him, "My name is Leah. Now I told you, so it's only fair I should know the name of the man that kidnapped me." Her voice was shaking slightly.

Marcus debated answering her for a second before deciding. "Marcus", he replied.

He saw her silently mouth his name, and felt an odd chill creep up his spine. No, he most certainly did not want to hear his name verbalized on her lips, he chided himself.

Knowing that he really had to get out of the room now, he placed the tray of food on her lap and turned to exit only to be halted once more at the door.

"Wait! Could you just please tell me why I'm here?" she sounded faintly desperate.

He stood in the doorway, keeping his back turned towards her.

"Eat." He commanded before stepping out and shutting the door firmly behind him, but not before he heard the muttered, "_Prick_" from the other side.

/ / / / / / / / / /

Ack, okay let me first start off by saying I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY!!

I know I'm a terrible authoress by updating 8 months later but THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ALL OF YOU WHO REVIEWED YOU GUYS ARE FRICKEN AWESOME!!

No, I will not abandon this story and again I'm terrible sorry for the long update.

I kind of forgot about it because school was so busy and English class writing assignments left me in no mood to actually write after I was done with all those "What is the symbolism of this…" papers. (I hate those; they suck out all of my creative juices)

Also, I didn't know so many people would like this story but thank you so much. Last time I had check on it there was only like 7 reviews, I come back and there are 17! So immediately I felt bad for leaving you all hanging and had to write the second chapter. I hope you all like it and hopefully now there will be more updates now that school (which runs my life) is winding down. I promise it won't be 8 months again.

All of that being said, if any one could tell me because I can't remember is it just werewolves who are repelled by the vampire's scent or is it a mutual thing?

Please review I will love you forever, even if it's just to tell me you don't like my story (Though I'd probably want a reason). Also, if you have any questions about the story feel free to ask and I will answer.

- Katherine Rossetti


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